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Comments - Debate: Do Girls Game Differently?
Dana
Member Posts: 2,415
Staff Writers Laura Genender and Carolyn Koh go head-to-head this week to debate the issue of whether or not girls play MMORPGs differently than their male counterparts.
| Carolyn: I think women game differently than men. Just like they develop differently, and do things differently in other aspects of life, they game differently. Different things / aspects of the game are more important to them than to men. This is especially true in an MMO which mimics in some basic manner, real life.
Different things are important to women than men and therefore how they view the MMO world is different. Women enjoy the "fluff" in a game more than men do. Although both are goal oriented - xp and levels, the social aspect of a game is more important to women. Speaking from my perspective. I'm a competitive gamer although my time is limited. I find the most effective and efficient ways to gain xp and do it, but I will take an entire evening away from that xp leveling to hang out with friends in-game or obtain tokens across the game-world to exchange for a dress that does nothing besides look pretty on my character. |
You can read the full debate here.
Dana Massey
Formerly of MMORPG.com
Currently Lead Designer for Bit Trap Studios
Comments
Carolyn is absolutely right. My girlfriend plays some of the same games as me but what she like to do in-game and what I like to do are totally different. She was more concerned with what armor looked like rather than what its properties were.
Interesting read
My wife games regularly in the MMO genre as it is more "laid back" than the fast paced FPS games or RTS games.
She plays virtually identical to me for one exception: I am very social ingame. She is very shy. If someone talks to her online in the game you can tell she's very shy and reserved but friendly.
For the most part I guess you could say she plays more of a demure type and I am the outspoken, rp, humorous type ingame.
People who have to create conspiracy and hate threads to further a cause lacks in intellectual comprehension of diversity.
this is really scary
after reading this, Ive come to the conclusion that I am a girl gamer?
*cries* er..waait..
*pounds his masculine hairy chest* I meant to say
on a serious note, ive found girl gamers to be a lot more competitive then guys in PvP games. Not to mean you will find a lot of girls enjoying PvP, but the ones that DO are extremely competitive. they take losing and winning to heart.
"If you want a picture of the future, imagine a robot foot stomping on a human face -- forever."
~Greatness~
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I feel the same way. I think girls simply tend to be casual gamers, and the female hardcore population just isn't there. Looking threw things girl want in game, it's usualy:
"Better Social Options"
"I want to look different from everyone else"
"I don't want a mindless grind"
I always end up saying "Hey I want that too....I'm a guy! Gasp"
Of course every so often you get a "I want to devote 100% of my time to making waffle instead of fight monsters!" but that's always followed by masses of "Just die"
more than one game (wow and eve) ive known a couple of "girl only" corps and guilds.
in both cases they were a majority of guys playing as girls. If I didnt know any better, I would say almost all of them are guys playing girl toons.
if you know a girl gamer, just as her how she feels about "girl only" guilds and you'll see what i mean. this is who I learned this info from in the games I mentioned.
"If you want a picture of the future, imagine a robot foot stomping on a human face -- forever."
Both editorials are correct. The problem arises when we are pigeonholed into one way of behaving or the other. Stereotypes become stereotypes for a reason, and that is because there is an element of truth to them. I dont see the problem with that as long as it is understood that it is not an absolute, and that regardless it doesnt permit a different level of behavior.
As a female gamer, I can say that I actually act more "girlish" in game than I do in real life. I see it as an outlet where I dont have to be as competitive and masucline as I do in my work. Therefore, I can certainly see how the opposite would also be true for others. Im sure plenty of females "feel" inclined to behave a certain way IRL and enjoy whoopin a little butt in game.
FWIW, I got so sick of all the guys claiming that all female avatars are really men (and the accusations that ensue), that I started making male characters to play just to avoid the harassment. Turns out the guys are right, it is more pleasant to look at the opposite sexes butt for hours on end.......
"The man who exchanges Liberty for Iconic classes is a fool deserving of neither." - Me and Ben Franklin
Assigning gaming preferences based on gender is silly. Are men, and women different? Sure. That doesn't mean they don't enjoy the same things. If that was true there wouldn't be female atheletes since that's supposed to be a "guy thing."
I spends ton of time making my character look unique in games when I can, and don't give a damn about XP per hour, or phat lewt. In Wow at one point my warrior bought a rifle, and a bunch of beer to go shoot rabbits in Elwynn Forest. The highest level I ever reached was 26.
A girl I know who played WoW was proud her guild was very dominant, and that she was the best tank in their ranks. She also liked to dress her character scantily, and dance in town. She had a level 60.
People often say the reason girls are attracted to MMOs is because of the social interaction. Maybe they're just happy they can play a female protagonist who isn't just there for the t&a factor.
Casual and hardcore are mindsets that are not gender exclusive.
When people will pay others to play a game for them it might be a sign the game isn't all that fun.
Not to turn this into another SWG rant, but the female "dyanmic" was one of the things that made it special. It provided the best outlet that ive found for the various things "most" women look for in a game. If you want to know why there arent that many female gamers, just look at the games. SWG was the only one ive found that wasnt solely about hacking and slashing. Dont get me wrong, I can hack and slash with the best of them but its nice to have an option if you want to just hang out ingame.
One of the best things about Galaxies, in its former incarnations, was that there actually were some females playing and having a good time. People ask, "how do you know they were really women?" But even without teamspeak, most women will tell you that they just know. Its really not that hard to tell who is what, in my opinion.
Many were entertainers or tailors, but many were also capable of handing you your butt in PVP. Its a shame what happened to it, considering the opportunity to open a gateway to half the population.
"The man who exchanges Liberty for Iconic classes is a fool deserving of neither." - Me and Ben Franklin
Whannnnn Whannnnn dat is the sound of 20 year old babies
only 3 women on the planet play MMORPG's, 2 of them weigh in excess of 900lbs, and the other is no longer technically female.
the rest are men pretending to be women because a)they are just odd, or b) they know they can get shit loads of free stuff from idiots that think girls actually play mmo's.
I don't understand why there are so many posts about girl gamers.
A Work in Progress.
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Because deep down every gamer wants a girlfriend who also games. That is until she kicks his ass in his favorite game.
When people will pay others to play a game for them it might be a sign the game isn't all that fun.
This is true. I do very much. But the problem is, there isn't many good looking ones who play games. Don't get me wrong, there are ALOT of hot gamer girls online........ BUT! They are online and they usually live in places where not many others do or in Europe or spread so far out across the united states + meeting girls online is weird.
I think they should stop making threads about it and go out and find themselves one.
A Work in Progress.
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What I find hilarious is that so many people I meet still think "girl gamers" are a work of fiction.....
(which is really the only reason people insist with using the term)
I've had so many people look at me funny and say "Huh!? No way!" It's getting ridiculous....
As far as the argument goes though, I think both Laura AND Carolyn are wrong to even be debating in the first place (call me crazy...) From what I've learned, ALL the stereotypes are misguided and just plain wrong. Girls AND guys like fluff. Girls AND guys are competetive. Girls AND guys do or don't do sidequests if they want to, etc. Girls AND guys play many different ways, and gender has absolutely NOTHING to do with it.
I think more people need to grow up and realize that a persons gender does not make them act a certain way, whether it's in gaming or real life. Most people think I'm a guy myself when I play, because I "don't act very girlie" Um.... I have to admit, I've no idea what they're talking about. But then maybe it's just me.....
The one thing I have to admit though, being a girl myself, I'd rather stare at a guys butt while I game - a nice looking one that is... Now, I just have to convince game designers to ACTUALLY PUT attractive male characters in their games... *sigh* In my dreams I guess.....
You just think they don't exist because you've gotten burned by too many female gamers.
Not all female gamers put up a sign that says, "Hi, I'm actually a girl, here's my picture showing my genitals next to my birth certificate, 3 forms of identification, a picture of me playing this MMO while reading a newspaper with today's date, and my grandmother who is identifying me."
Get real. I don't ask you to prove you're male. I know more female MMO gamers IRL than male, and I know more D&D female gamers and DMs that are female. And that is coming from me, the female president of my university's RPG Group with almost 200 members.
Pwned.
-Niksa
Looking for a real game.
usually they always lose duels or pvp
they would rather craft tho
and u need to give them gold or good gear when they start or theyll die 2 much
and they drag a lot of extra drama in guild
but
shrug
other than that theres relly no difference
Everyone can "game" differently. It dose'nt matter if your of a different sex, race, age, or condition you are in. This is a debate that has to be most likely be an experiment rather than just talk about it. Anyone can talk about it, a few can test opun it.
We all can kind of see that females would game differently than males, but that does not mean that males are the same nor that females are the same. We all change our strategies and views to what we play and how we play it.
So in short, it kinda seems like a one sided debate. We all game differently, we all are not (necessarily) the same when it comes to gaming.
Sorry if I went off a bit, but my point is we all game differently to adapt to what we play and how we play it and the subject is kinda one sided.
Remember this is just a debate of opinions, no one should take this seriously unless proven (that won't be easy). I just wanted to throw this last comment out.
-In memory of Laura "Taera" Genender. Passed away on Aug/13/08-
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RISING DRAGOON ~AION US ONLINE LEGION for Elyos
Hmmm, well despite my above message I will say I've gamed with a lot of girls over the years both in MMOs and in PnP. My household has 3 computers and 3 WoW accounts and my dad and Stepmother both play, she fits the general stereotype being discussed almost exactly.
On the other hand I have run into a couple of female players who play men in games to avoid harassment, they do not want guys to give them things, and want to play the game without anyone going out of their way because they are a girl.
Also I will say that you'd be surprised how many young girls are actually playing these games, I'm aquainted with a few IRL who play games like WoW. One of the things I warn people about online is that I do not recommend getting into any kind of online romance stuff because while getting involved with a girl who turns out to be a guy IRL might be embarassing, getting involved with a 13 year old girl who is fooling around in what she sees as a safe and detached enviroment can get your rear thrown in jail if her parents find out.
One thing I have picked up on that I will share is that most guys playing girls tend to skirt around the subject of sex a lot more than actual girls do, and believe it or not it's the teenies who are oftentimes the most aggressive perverts because of the "detachment" of the Internet. While not quite on the subject being discussed, I again say "just say no to online romance". I've never been in trouble but I see the potential with all the internet perv-hunts and I've been around these games since DSO and was doing MUDs (text only) before that.
>>>----Therumancer--->
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First rule of the Internet - All the women on the Internet are men, until DNA samples taken in person verify otherwise.
--
Your sexist BS
Bring offence to everyone
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Taken into account Nick Yee's research on his site, I'm more inclined towards Carolyn's side.
The fact that everyone has his own distinct way of playing a game does not necessarily entail the lack of common elements based on certain criteria. Since the two genders do show a different social behaviour (either because of different upbrinding or somatic factors) and, statistically, different preferences in other means of entertainment, it comes as no surprise that Nick Yee's statistics show a variation in preferences in online gaming.
While most activities are indeed the same, a higher female percentage prefers social activities in MMORPGs. Furthermore, there is a strong variation in teaming preferences. A very high percentage of female players prefers to group with players they already know (guildmates or acquiantances), while men tend to not bother grouping with strangers as much. Moreover, and this comes as no surprise considering the traditional approach to the upgringing of a man, a higher percentage of male players base their enjoyment in achievements such as acquiring powerful items for their virtual characters.
Currently playing:
* City of Heroes: Deggial, Assault Rifle/Devices Blaster. Server: Defiant.
* City of Villains: Snakeroot, Plant/Thorns Dominator. Server: Defiant.
you know, you are completely wrong. my EQ2 guild has at least 4 girls in it, one of them being my wife. the others i have talked to on teamspeak and have seen photos on our website, but good luck with your skewed vision.